1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a trash container for the storage and ready removal of filled disposable garbage bags and receptacles or the like from a side of the container.
The utilization of trash containers of a generally rigid construction which enable the filling thereof and storage therein of filled garbage bags and other refuse is widely known and employed for home, office and industrial applications. In particular, many of such trash container structures incorporate top openings which enable the insertion therethrough of filled garbage bags for their storage in the container until it is desired that such bags be collected and removed to other locations for processing and disposal. At such times, in many instances, the filled garbage bags are either lifted out through the top opening in the trash container, or the entire container is raised so as to enable discharge of the bags through an openable bottom of the container. This entails expenditure of a considerable amount of energy in the lifting of the container and/or the contents therein, quite frequently rendering such removal procedures cumbersome and possibly unsanitary or hazardous since the person removing the container contents must reach into the trash container without being able to view the contents and ascertain if they are injurious to the person or environment. Moreover, when it is required to raise the container in order to gain access to the filled garbage bags stored therein, often this necessitates the sliding out of the bags from the raised up bottom wall structure of the trash container, often a physically difficult task in implementing these maneuvers.
In order to gain an easier access to the trash container contents, such as filled garbage bags and other types of refuse, various structures have been proposed in the technology, however, not all of which are suitable for the easy discharge of such bags in a rapid and simple manner from a trash container.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Getz U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,630 discloses a garbage can for use with disposable garbage bags or refuse contained therein, in which the can which is of generally rectangular cross-section with a widening bottom region, to which access may be gained by removing the narrower upper portion of the upwardly narrowing container. This will allow for access to a large garbage disposal bag which is suspended within the rigid can, which in turn, provides for storage space for receiving a plurality of filled smaller garbage bags or other refuse. The structure shown in Getz requires an upper lid portion including mounting devices for suspending the large garbage disposal bag thereto, and in addition, if it is desired to empty the can, this necessitates removal of the upper lid structure which restrains the upper edge of the garbage bag, thereafter lifting off the upper conically narrowing portion of the can to expose and gain access to the disposal bag, and thereafter, after removing the full bag, again reassembling the conical portion introducing a new large garbage disposal bag and then fastening the upper edge thereof to the reimposed lid and cover structure. This represents an extremely complex construction necessitating a considerable amount of effort in both assembly and disassembly of the can and disposal bag components. Moreover, the garbage can construction necessitating the use of such separate components renders the entire structure thereof not only complex but extremely expensive in its manufacture and maintenance inasmuch as, generally, such garbage cans are subjected to relatively rough handling during their usage.
Copeland U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,380 discloses a trash bag filling and compacting form, in which an outer container includes a removable cover and a bottom wall structure for supporting garbage bags within an upstanding rigidly-walled container structure. When the container is filled and it is required to remove the garbage bags therefrom, the cover is raised away from the sidewalls of the container, and the sidewalls thereafter are lifted away from the bottom in order to enable the removal of the container contents therefrom. This again necessitates disassembling of the entire container components and separating the latter in order to gain access to the contents thereof from within the bottom region, which is subject to all of the limitations and disadvantages encountered in the above-mentioned Getz patent.
Jorgensen U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,271 discloses a rigid trash container structure in which a frusto-conical sidewall widening towards the bottom of the container, and which rests on a bottom wall, is enabled to be opened so as to allow for gaining access to the container contents, which may be filled garbage bags or the like trash. This structure, although somewhat simpler in nature than the above-mentioned prior art constructions, still necessitates the entire sidewall be opened which could conceivably cause the inadvertent or unintended falling out of the container contents, thereby creating either a hazardous or unsanitary condition for the person removing the contents, especially inasmuch as some of the garbage bags contained therein may split open during the opening of the container, and spill their contents.
Finally, Guenette U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,407; Kim U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,778 and Rudolph U.S. Pat. No. 652,331 all disclose various types of trash container constructions adapted to receive filled garbage bags and the like refuse. However, none of these disclose a container which is in the nature of a frusto-conical configuration narrowing from the bottom upwardly toward the top and having a sidewall providing for the ready removal or side discharge of garbage bags or refuse from the lower interior of the trash container.